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ItalianoUpdated 28.09.2023
At its third Tourism Mobility Day on 28 September, the Tirol Tourist Board brought together representatives from the industry, politics and experts at the Congress Innsbruck. The basic tenor of the speakers: Tyrol is well on the way to expanding public transport and sustainable mobility. Numerous best-practice examples testify to this. At the same time, challenges need to be overcome.
Innsbruck, 28 September 2023 - Putting mobility into a tourism context is the goal of the Tirol Tourist Board at its Tourism Mobility Day. After all, the two topics are closely linked and not only encompass the arrival of guests, but go far beyond that. Therefore, the programme of the event ranged from a review of tourism mobility over the past ten years to news from the railway partners and current best-practice examples from Tyrol's regions. An exchange with Tourism Provincial Councillor Mario Gerber and Mobility Provincial Councillor René Zumtobel on the future of tourism mobility in the province as well as a lecture by behavioural economist Gerhard Fehr provided exciting impulses for the approximately 80 participants.
Encouraging more guests to opt for sustainable mobility
"Sustainability in tourism is closely linked to the accessibility of tourism regions," explained Tourism Provincial Councillor Mario Gerber at the Tourism Mobility Day. After all, the car is still the number one means of transport for Tyrolean guests. "Therefore, it is our goal to make both arrival mobility and on-site mobility more ecological by 2035. In on-site mobility, for example, we are aiming for one hundred percent use of regenerative forms of propulsion."
In terms of sustainability, the aim is to encourage even more people to use the diverse mobility offers in Tyrol and to create more awareness for sustainable travel. "Last but not least, the promotion of sustainable mobility is crucial for the sustainable development of our country," the tourism provincial councillor said.
Best practice examples from the regions
"Both guests and tourism professionals are more open to public transport than ever before," said René Zumtobel, Regional Councillor for Mobility. However, to ensure that the holiday experience in Tyrol is not compromised, suitable local mobility offers are needed. The region of Seefeld - Tyrol's high plateau has shown pioneering spirit with this year's climate-friendly travel campaign "Freifahrt ins Urlaubsglück" and its new mobility concept. "In addition, many tourist regions are already relying on the guest card = ticket system and the international train connections to Tyrol are also being continuously expanded," Zumtobel summed up.
"A well-developed public transport network and a low-threshold ticket offer make it possible for guests and locals alike to move around the whole of Tyrol in a climate-friendly way. Our common goal is thus clear: public transport and tourism work hand in hand and thus also improve the quality of life of the Tyrolean population in the long term," says the Mobility Provincial Councillor.
Tourism mobility in the last ten years
"We know that the largest CO2 footprint on holiday is created during the journey - in concrete terms, it is around 70 per cent. It is therefore clear that mobility is one of the most important levers for more sustainability in tourism," Karin Seiler, Managing Director of the Tirol Tourist Board, was convinced at the Tourism Mobility Day. In both the summer of 2022 and the winter of 2022/23, about seven percent of Tirol guests travelled by train.
In the past ten years, the Tirol Tourist Board has already achieved a great deal with numerous mobility partners and initiatives such as "Tirol auf Schiene" (Tirol on Rail) - both in the expansion of public travel and local mobility. For example, the travel tool GRETA (= Green Travel Alternatives) developed in Tyrol suggests climate-friendly travel options to bring guests seamlessly from the doorstep to the hotel. For convenient planning of excursions by public transport, guests and locals can use the app NaturTrip: it links activities and excursion destinations with public transport timetables and thus saves time and effort.
Numerous other best-practice examples from Tyrol's regions were brought before the curtain at the Tourism Mobility Day, including the new RegioFlink project. This is a public transport shuttle of the Verkehrsverbund Tirol (VVT), which has been running in the Reutte valley basin since September and was presented as a pilot project in Wattens in 2022. The concept follows a demand-oriented "on-demand service" that is only available on demand: Two electric-powered vehicles can be booked independently of fixed routes via app or phone and should thus contribute to a reduction of individual traffic in the Außerfern.
From the perspective of a behavioural economist
"Sustainability is not a trend, but has come to stay," behavioural economist Gerhard Fehr of Fehr Advice is convinced. "Because only those who adapt to sustainability and also take it into account in their entrepreneurial activities can be profitable in the future," explained the keynote speaker at the Tourism Mobility Day.
Fehr sees the question of luggage transport as the biggest hurdle in public travel. "On the one hand, this is because many are unsure whether they will even be able to get their luggage back after a trip by public transport. On the other hand, because the car is still perceived to be much more convenient than public transport when it comes to luggage transport." So the reservations about public travel could only be solved as soon as someone solved the luggage issue adequately.